SOUTH AFRICA MARKET REVIEW
- South African markets closed in the red yesterday, led by losses in mining sector stocks and as investors await US consumer inflation data.
- Gold miners, Gold Fields (JO:GFIJ), Harmony Gold Mining Company (JO:HARJ) and Sibanye Stillwater (JO:SSWJ) dropped 3.8%, 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Pharmaceutical companies, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings (JO:APNJ) and Adcock Ingram Holdings (JO:AIPJ) declined 2.4% and 0.7%, respectively.
- Food companies, RFG Holdings (JO:RFGJ) and RCL Foods (JO:RCLJ) eased 1.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
- On the flipside, property developers, Redefine Properties (JO:RDFJ), Resilient REIT (JO:RESJ), Equites Property Fund (JO:EQUJ) and Emira Property Fund (JO:EMIJ) advanced 3.7%, 2.8%, 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively.
- The JSE All Share index declined 0.2% to close at 84,193.94.
UK MARKET REVIEW
- The UK market was closed yesterday on account of a public holiday. On Friday, the FTSE 100 index advanced 0.5% to close at 8,327.78.
US MARKET REVIEW
- US markets ended mostly lower yesterday, amid losses in semiconductor chip sector stocks.
- Semiconductor chip companies, Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) plunged 8.3%, 4.1%, 3.8% and 2.3%, respectively.
- On the contrary, media and entertainment companies, Warner Bros Discovery Group (NASDAQ:WBD) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) advanced 2.2% and 1.4%, respectively.
- Energy companies, Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Diamondback Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:FANG), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) gained 2.1%, 1.1%, 1.0% and 0.6%, respectively.
- The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% to settle at 5,616.84, while the DJIA index advanced 0.2% to close at 41,240.52.
- The NASDAQ index eased 0.9% to end the trading session at 17,725.77.
ASIA MARKET REVIEW
- Asian markets are trading lower this morning, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.
- In Japan, pharmaceutical company, Sumitomo Pharma (TYO:4506) has declined 1.8%.
- On the flipside, banking company, Aozora Bank (TYO:8304) has gained 2.8%.
- In Hong Kong, real estate company, Longfor Group Holdings (HK:0960) has shed 2.5%.
- On the other hand, automobile company, Geely Automobile (HK:0175) has advanced 3.1%.
- In South Korea, chemical company, ISU Specialty Chemical (KS:457190) has dropped 5.0%.
- On the contrary, construction and trading services company, Kolon Global Corporation (KS:003075) has jumped 6.6%.
- The Nikkei 225 index is trading 0.1% lower at 38,055.62.
- The Hang Seng index has declined 0.2% to trade at 17,759.31, while the Kospi index is trading 0.3% lower at 2,690.44.
COMMODITIES
- At 05:30 SAST today, Brent prices fell 0.2% to trade at $81.24/bl.
- Yesterday, Brent prices rose 3.0% to settle at $81.43/bl, after Libya's eastern government announced the closure of all oil fields, halting production and exports.
- At 05:30 SAST today, gold prices declined 0.4% to trade at $2,507.24/oz. Yesterday, gold gained 0.2% to close at $2,516.89/oz, as rate cut optimism and heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East increased demand for the safe haven yellow metal.
- Yesterday, copper marginally declined to close at $9,173.21/mt. Aluminium closed slightly lower at $2,542.15/mt.
CURRENCIES
- Yesterday, the South African rand weakened against the US dollar. In the US, durable goods orders rose more than expected in July, amid a rise in orders for transportation equipment. Moreover, the Dallas Fed manufacturing business index rose in August.
- The yield on benchmark government bonds fell yesterday. The yield on the 2030 bond declined to 9.05%, while that for the longer-dated 2040 issue fell to 11.16%.
- At 05:30 SAST, the US dollar is trading 0.1% lower against the South African rand at R17.7146, while the euro is trading marginally lower at R19.7877. At 05:30 SAST, the British pound has declined 0.1% against the South African rand to trade at R23.3619.
- Yesterday, the euro declined against most of the major currencies. In the Germany, the Ifo business climate index deteriorated to a six-month low in August. Moreover, both, current situation index and the Ifo expectations index dropped in August. In the UK, the BRC Shop price fell for first time in almost three years in August.
- At 05:30 SAST, the euro marginally advanced against the US dollar to trade at $1.1168, while it has gained 0.1% against the British pound to trade at GBP0.8469.
ECONOMIC UPDATES
- In the UK, the BRC Shop price index dropped 0.3% on a YoY basis in August, compared to a rise of 0.2% recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, the Ifo business climate fell to a level of 86.60 in August, less than market expectations and compared to a level of 87.00 recorded in the prior month.
- In Germany, the Ifo current assessment index dropped as expected to a level of 86.50 in August, compared to a level of 87.10 recorded in the previous month.
- In Germany, the Ifo expectations index declined less than expected to a level of 86.80 in August. The Ifo expectations index had recorded a revised level of 87.00 recorded in the prior month.
- In the US, durable goods orders rose 9.9% in July, more than market expectations for a rise of 4.0%. Durable goods orders had recorded a revised drop of 6.9% in the previous month.
- In the US, the Dallas Fed manufacturing business index rose to a level of -9.70 in August, compared to a level of -17.50 recorded in the prior month.
CORPORATE UPDATES
SOUTH AFRICA
- Gold Fields Limited (JO:GFIJ): The gold mining company announced the appointment of Mr. Phillip Anthony Murnane as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and an Executive Director of the company.
- Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (JO:HARJ): The gold mining company, in its FY24 trading and operational update, reported a significant increase in performance driven by higher gold production, improved recovered grades and record gold prices. It revealed that gold production increased by 6.0% to 48,578kg. Moreover, it expects EPS to be at least 78.0% higher as compared with 780.00c recorded in the previous year. HEPS is expected to be at least 100.0% higher as compared with 800.00c recorded in the prior year.
- ADvTECH Limited (JO:ADHJ): The education and recruitment company, in its 1H24 results, reported revenues from contracts with customers of R4.27bn from R3.93bn posted in the corresponding period of the previous year. Its diluted EPS increased 16.4% from the same period of the prior year to 97.10c.
- Italtile Limited (JO:ITEJ): The home-finishing products company, in its FY24 results, reported that revenue declined 0.8% from the preceding year to R9.06bn. Its diluted EPS dropped to 122.10c, compared with 132.40c recorded in the previous year.
- Oil rises amid escalating tension in Middle East: Oil prices extended gains on the fear a major spillover in fighting from the Gaza conflict into the Middle East could disrupt regional oil supply, while imminent US interest rate cuts lifted the global economic and fuel demand outlook.